The Beginning(Genesis) and Pangu, The Flood and Nüwa

This chapter briefly introduces the ancient China legends of Pangu and Nüwa. In Ancient Chinese legend, it was Pangu who started the universe from an initial formless state. Nüwa who appeared after Pangu opened up the universe, carried out God’s tasks to stop the Big Flood, repair the heavens, and establish the Four Ends of the Earth.

The legends of Pangu and Nüwa are similar to Biblical stories of the Creation and the Big Flood. Despite coming from vastly different ancient civilizations, these stories have uncanny similarities. Even though Pangu and Nüwa’s stories were regarded as legends in China,this chapter should bring confidence that these stories came from the same historical events as the Bible stories of the Creation and the Big Flood, the Creation and The Big Flood stories were not fictions, but real history.

The Creation and the Big Flood in the BibleThe Old Testament tells us that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth from a formless, emptiness where darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

When Men began to increase in number on the Earth, the Earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence (Genesis 6:11). Only Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8). God let Noah make himself an ark (Genesis 6:14) and go into it with his whole family, taking with him seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, one pair of every kind of unclean animal, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird (Genesis 7:7).

All the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the Earth forty days and forty nights. The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. Every living thing on the face of the Earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the Earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the Earth for a hundred and fifty days (Genesis 7).

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the Earth, and the waters receded. Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky (Genesis 8). By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the Earth. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the Earth was completely dry. Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. 19 All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds - everything that moves on land - came out of the ark, one kind after another.

The Pangu Legend Historic Records of Pangu’s Story in ChinaThe first writer to record the myth of Pangu was Xu Zheng (220-265CE) during the Three Kingdoms (220-280CE) period, in the book of Sanwu Liji (Three Five Historic Records). [43]

In the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. And Pangu was inside it.

After 18000 years (many years), Pangu separated the Sky from the Earth.

The yang, which was light and pure, rose to become the sky, and the yin, which was heavy and murky, sank to form the Earth.

Pangu was inside the egg for many years, and changed 9 times (many times) every day; he became the God of the heavens, and the Holy of the Earth.

Another many years passed, and there was an extremely high sky, an extremely thick Earth, and an extremely tall Pangu.

Much later, there were three Emperors on the Earth.

After the universe became extremely large, there were Human Beings.

After many years elapsed, Pangu was laid to rest.

His breath became the wind; his voice the thunder; his left eye the sun and right eye the moon; his body became the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood formed rivers; his muscles the fertile lands; his facial hair the stars and milky way; his fur the bushes and forests; his bones the valuable minerals; his bone marrow sacred diamonds; his sweat fell as rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became the fish and animals throughout the land.

Note: In ancient China, the numbers 9 and 18 did not exactly mean nine and eighteen, they meant many, even a number could not be counted. In Pangu’s story, “18000 years” did not mean exactly eighteen thousands years, it meant many years even beyond counting. “Change 9 times a day” did not mean changing exactly nine times, it meant many times. “Grew ten feet (=3 meters) did not mean exactly ten feet, it meant many feet.

The I-Ching (Yi-Jing) and the Pangu LegendI-Ching, or The Book of Change, says, "The Great Ultimate, Tai Ji (Tai Chi), has changes which give rise to the Two Elements. The Two Elements give rise to the Four Phenomena, and the Four Phenomena give rise to the Eight Hexagrams, and the Eight Hexagrams give rise to all events and things."

Tai Ji (Tai Chi), the Great Ultimate, actually means the earliest, beginning of all events and things. Everything came from one (Tai Ji), to two (elements), to four (phenomena), to eight (hexagrams), to eventually sixty-four (hexagrams)… and to all events and things.

Pangu’s story

I-Ching

In the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. However this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. And Pangu was inside it.I-Ching states that there was nothing in the universe except Tai Ji, the earliest, the beginning of all events and things.Ancient Chinese people considered Pangu to be Tai Ji, the Great Ultimate.After many years, Pangu separated the Sky from the Earth. The Yang which was light and pure rose to become the sky, and the Yin which was heavy and murky sank to form the Earth.Tai Ji, the Great Ultimate, gave rise to the Two Elements. The Yin and the Yang can be considered Two Elements which came from Tai Ji.According to the legend of Pangu, his breath became the wind; his voice the thunder. All parts of his body became the sun, moon, mountains and extremes of the world, rivers, fertile lands, stars, milky way, bushes, forests, valuable minerals, diamonds, rain, fish and animals throughout the land.I-Ching believed that all things came from Tai Ji, The Great Ultimate.Pangu was Tai Ji, the Great Ultimate; he gave rise to all things.

The Big Bang and the Pangu LegendThe Big Bang was the event which led to the formation of the universe, according to the prevailing cosmological theory of the universe's early development (it is variously known as the Big Bang theory or Big Bang model). According to the Big Bang model, the universe, originally in an extremely hot and dense state that expanded rapidly, has since cooled as it expanded to the present diluted state, and continues to expand today. Based on the best available measurements as of 2010, the original state of the universe, when the Big Bang occurred, existed around 13.7 billion years ago.

Pangu’s story echoes some elements of the Big Bang theory.

Pangu’s story

The Big Bang theory

In the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. However, this chaos coalesced into a cosmic egg. And Pangu was inside it.Pangu can be considered a kind of energy in the Big Bang hypothesis.After many years, Pangu separated the Sky from the Earth. The Yang, which was light and pure, rose to become the sky, and the Yin, which was heavy and murky, sank to form the Earth.The Yin which was heavy and murky can be considered matter which formed planets. The Yang which was light and pure can be considered extraterrestrial matter.Pangu was inside the egg for many years, and changed many times every day; with each day the sky grew ten feet (3 meters) higher, the Earth ten feet wider, and Pangu ten feet taller.In the beginning, the universe was very unsteady and rapidly expanding.Another many years passed, and there was an extremely high sky, an extremely thick Earth, and an extremely tall Pangu. After the universe became extremely large, Human Beings started.In the Big Bang hypothesis, after the universe and the Earth became steady, life on Earth evolved. And finally, modern humans appeared.

The Beginning (Genesis) and the Pangu Legend According to Genesis 1, in the beginning, the universe was formless and empty darkness. It was God who created the universe (the heavens and the Earth).According to the Pangu Legend, in the beginning there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. It was Pangu who started the universe, and he became the God of the heavens and the Holy of the Earth.

The legend of Pangu is similar to the Biblical story of the Creation. Because these stories, which came from such different civilizations, have these similarities, it brings confidence that the legend of Pangu and the Biblical Creation story refer to the same historical events.

The Nüwa LegendHistoric Written Records of Nüwa’s Story in ChinaThe earliest written story of Nüwa was from Shanhaijing: Classic of the Great Wilderness: West, “There were ten spirits. It said that Nüwa's intestines scattered into ten spirits; they lived in millet fields and slept on Roads.”

Another story of Nüwa was written in Liezi, chapter 5 Questions of Tang (about 475BCE-221BCE), by Lie Yukou. Paragraph 1, "Nüwa Repairs the Heavens" describes Nüwa repairing the imperfect heavens. “Nüwa used five colored stones to repair the heavens, cut the legs off a tortoise, and used them as struts to establish the four corners of the Earth (the four Ends of the Earth).”

The Bamboo Annals (about 475BCE-221BCE) records, “There was Mountain called Heaven Platform outside the East Sea. A ladder led to the Heaven and to a platform where human beings could be transformed into spirits. People with wings lived there. Heaven Platform was a mountain carried by a tortoise that swam around the sea for many years. When Nüwa cut the legs off a tortoise and used them as struts to establish the four corners of the Earth (the four Ends of the Earth), She saw the Spirit Mountain was unsteady, then moved it to Langya beach.”

Shanhaijing:Classic of Regions Within the Seas: East says,“Langya Platform was in the Bo Sea, east to Langya.”

In the book of Huainanzi, Chapter 6: Lanmingxun (179BCE-122BCE), by Liu An, the chapter "Nüwa Mended the Sky" records, “In remote antiquity, (1) the four corners (four Ends of the Earth) collapsed, and (2) the Earth descended into chaos: (3) the firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and (4) the Earth was no longer able to support itself; (5) fire burned wild, and (6) waters flooded the land. (7) Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak.

Hence, ( Nüwa tempered the five-colored stone to mend the heavens, (9) cut off the feet of the great turtle to establish the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth), (10) killed the black dragon to help the Earth, and (11) gathered the ash of reed to stop the flood.

After Nüwa finished her tasks, (12) the Heavens were repaired, and (13) the four Ends of the Earth were established. (14) The flood waters dried. (15) China became peaceful. (16) Evil animals died, and (17) Good people grew. Then (1 Nüwa left the Square Earth, and enfolded (went to) the Round Heaven. (19) However, Nüwa did not highlight her meritorious deed and make a name for herself. She concealed herself among immortals, and was obedient to original laws of the heavens and the earth.”

Gao You in the Eastern Han Dynasty said: “Nüwa, Goddess, helped Fuxi to govern people.” There was another explanation of Gao You’s words today - “Nüwa, Goddess, with the help of Fuxi, governed mankind.”

From these early written records, we find how Nüwa repaired the heavens, established the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth), killed the black Dragon and evil animals, and stopped the Big Flood.

The earliest written records never mentioned Nüwa as the creator of Human Beings.Further Legends of NüwaAccording to the earliest written stories, Nüwa was not the creator of Human Beings. But later, mankind continued enriching Nüwa’s stories by adding in more fancies.

Xu Shen (about 58-147CE) of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE), first wrote of Nüwa as a creator in his book Shuowen Jiezi. This book was the first Chinese dictionary with character analysis, as well as the first to organize the characters by shared components. It said: “Wa, the ancient Goddess, the creator of everything.”

Ying Zhao (about 153-196CE) of the Eastern Han Dynasty was the first to write of how Nüwa made humans with loess in his book Fengshu Tongyi. It said: “In the beginning, there were no humans; it was Nüwa who made humans with loess. Later, she was too tired, then she soaked a rope in the wet loess, swung the rope, and mud spots fell to the ground to become humans.”

A record of Fuxi (an ancient legendary king) as Nüwa’s brother, who then married her, was in Lingyi Ji, authored by Du Guangting (850-933CE).

Nüwa is presented differently in so many myths; it is not accurate to tie her down as a creator, mother. Depending on the myths, she is a wife, sister, man, tribal leader (or even emperor), creator, maintainer, etc. No evidence could prove these myths correct. Regardless of the origins, most myths present Nüwa as female and in a procreative role after a calamity.Nüwa’s Name

In ancient Chinese Oracle bone script, there was no character for Wa(5), and the Chinese character Wa(5) appears not to have yet been invented in the Shang Dynasty (about1600BCE-1046BCE). However, the ancient Chinese character in the Oracle bone script , upper part: Wo(1) and lower part: Mu(2), was the Chinese character E(3), which meant “Beautiful lady”.

Shang Dynasty People prayed to E(3): “offer sacrifice to ancestors; offer sacrifice to country ancestors; give sacrifice gift to those who are loyal to the king; pray for good harvest; pray for rain; pray for luck and happiness; pray for prosperity for the country.” E(3) was the goddess with highest rank. Many scholars agreed that E(3) was indeed the Goddess Wa(5) (Nüwa).

In the Ancient Chinese Phonology system, Wa(5) came from Wa(4). It belonged to the Ge section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology. Wa(5), Wa(4), Wo(1) and E(3) were at the same section of the pre-Qin Chinese Phonology. The vowel rhyme of Wa(5) and E(3) could be transferred, Wa(5) and E(3) were interchangeable.

Chinese Pictophonetic characters have two radicals, the meaning sides and the phonetic sides.

According to the Jiyun (literally "Collected Rimes"), a Chinese rime dictionary published in 1037 during the Song Dynasty (960-1279CE), Wa(4) had the meaning radical side of Nü (female) and the phonetic radical side of Gui; Wa(6) had the meaning radical side of Zu (foot) and the phonetic radical side of Gui.

Shuowen Jiezi says that Wa(5) had the meaning radical side of Nü (female) and the phonetic radical side of Wa(6).

The phonetic radical sides of Wa (4), (5), (6) come from the same source. They are pronounced the same. Wa(4) and Wa(5) have the same meaning radical side, Nü (meaning female); and Wa(4) and Wa(5) have the same meaning: beautiful lady. Nüwa(4) and Nüwa(5) therefore have the same pronunciation (pinyin), and the same meaning, “beautiful lady.” This strongly suggests that the name of Nüwa(5) came from Nüwa(4).

Nüwa(4) is commonly used to refer to any young and beautiful lady. At first, Nüwa(5) the goddess did not have a name; people called her Nüe(3), or Nüwa(4), meaning only “Beautiful lady.” Later some people thought that as the Goddess, Nüwa(4) must have her own name, so they invented a special Chinese character, Wa(5), for her. After that, Nüwa(5) had her own name, instead of using Nüwa(4) and Nüe(3).

Having no name was consistent with ancient Chinese cultural tradition. In ancient China, most men and women did not have names. Only noble men/women and VIPs had names.

For example, Liu Bang, the first emperor of Han Dynasty (202BCE-220CE), was originally named Liu Ji (Ji means the third son of the family) before he became the leader. Liu Bang had two brothers: Liu Bo (Bo means the first son of the family) and Liu Zhong (Zhong means the second son of the family).

Another example: in a very famous story, Meng Jiang Nü cried for the Great Wall during the Qin Dynasty (221BCE-207BCE). Meng Jiang Nü did not have her own name. Jiang was the family name, Meng meant the first daughter in the family, and Nü meant girl. Meng Jiang Nü meant the first daughter of Jiang’s family.

The Change in the Image of Nüwa According to the literature on prehistoric legends, Nüwa’s image was indeterminate in the eyes of poets during the middle and latter half of the Warring States Period (476BCE-221BCE).

Qu Yuan (340BCE-278BCE), a great poet from the State of Chu (about 1042BCE-223BCE), was the first to wonder about image of Nüwa. In Chu Ci: Questioning Heaven, he asks: “If Nüwa has a body, who makes it?” [44]

From this, we see that until the middle stage of the Western Han Dynasty (202BCE-9CE), people still believed that Nüwa did not have an image. In the latter stage of the Western Han Dynasty, word that “Nüwa had a human head with a snake body” started rising in common people.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE), Wang Yi argued: “It circulated widely in folk literature that Nüwa is half person and half snake, and her body changes 70 times a day. If this is true, who made Nüwa?”

Nüwa was the most important goddess in ancient China. People originally worshipped Nüwa with a bird totem; they believed Nüwa was from an ethnic group that worshipped the phoenix.

Song Chao, of the Editorial Department of History Studies, Beijing, China, has studied the evolution of Nüwa’s image during the Warring States (about 475BCE-221BCE), Qin (221BCE-206BCE) and Han (202BCE-220CE) periods; he claims that only since the latter stage of the Western Han Dynasty, when it entered its social upheaval, had the image of Nüwa become a human head with a snake body.

In his book, The Evolution of the Image of Nüwa during the Periods of the Warring States, Qin and Han, Song Chao suggests that the image of Nüwa was a saint advocating emptiness and purity, who ranked with Fuxi as an individual with consummate morality in the literature of Western Han Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three sovereigns, a group of mythological rulers and deities from ancient China during the period circa 2852BCE to 2070BCE, often known as Fuxi (伏羲), Shennong (神农), Suiren (燧人) or Zhurong (祝融) and today considered culture heroes, were revived. At the latter stage of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the three Sovereigns evolved into the series of three sovereigns (Fuxi, Nüwa, Shennong),marking the eventual formation of the image of Nüwa as a saint.

Nüwa and Fuxi were first portrayed as having snake-like tails interlocked in a mural of late Eastern Han dynasty in the Wuliang Temple, Wu's family plot, in Jiaxiang County of Shandong Province.

The reason the image of Nüwa changed from that of an indeterminate Goddess to a snake-tailed human was because of the growth of Dragon worship since the latter stage of Western Han Dynasty and during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE). At this time, dragon worship saw rapidly growth in ordinary people.

Nüwa as an AngelIn ancient Chinese legend, it was Pangu who started the universe from its formlessness. Nüwa, who appeared only after Pangu opened up the universe, was an angel created by Pangu. We have considered Pangu to be God; Nüwa, then, was an angel created by God, who carried out God’s tasks to repair the heavens, stop the Big Flood, and establish the Four Ends of the Earth.

Nüwa and the Ends of the EarthIn Chapter 3, we discussed the locations of the Four Ends of the Earth: the Easternmost place in China; the Westernmost place in America; the Northernmost place near Arctic Circle; and the Southernmost place in Australia and New Zealand.

According the Nüwa Legend, Nüwa, an angel of God, had taken God’s task of establishing the Four Ends of the Earth.

On the other hand, Nüwa was the most important Goddess in ancient China. We could say that Nüwa was the root of the Dong-Yi People and their culture. As the Dong-Yi People spread out to the Arctic Circle, America, Australia and Oceania, Nüwa became the root of Neolithic peopleand their cultures in four Ends of the Earth. It was Nüwa, an angel of God, who helped the Neolithic people of the four Ends of the Earth to build the most advanced Neolithic cultures.

Three Big Floods in Neolithic ChinaAccording to the literature available, ancient China recorded three famous Floods, which happened around 4,500-5,000 years ago, 10,000 years ago and 20,000 years ago.

Da Yu (the Great Yu) Flood (about 4500-5000 years ago)According to Shanhaijing, the Yu People believed that the tribal clan of the Gong Gong caused floods during Yao, Shun, and Yu period. The Da Yu fought with the Gong Gong, deported them and exiled them to You Zhou.

An archaeological site belonging to Longshan Culture (about 3200BCE-1900BCE), located in a stream channel near Luoyang of Henan Province, indicates people living in the lower places long before the upper places were inhabited. The lower sites were from before the flood; the upper places were inhabited after the flood. About 5,000 years ago, the big flood forced people to shift from lower places to higher ground.

The Wugong (武功) archaeological site contains Xu Xi Zhuang(浒西庄) archaeological remains in lower levels, and Zhao Jia Lai (赵家来) archaeological remains are located higher up. About 5,000 years ago, the big flood forced people to shift from Xu Xi Zhuang to Zhao Jia Lai. According to Excavations in Wugong – Xuxizhuang and Zhaojialai Sites, the report from The Institute of Archaeology, China Academy of Social Sciences, published by Cultural Relics Publishing House, Beijing in 1988, archeologists thought Xu Xi Zhuang belonged to the Miaodigou Second Culture, its time period was about 4700-4400 years ago. Human remains suddenly disappeared from Xu Xi Zhuang about 4400 years ago, while the similar remains appeared in Zhao Jia Lai about 4300-4000 years ago. [45]

Gong Gong Flood (about 10,000 years ago)Gong Gong bumped his head against Mount Buzhou and caused great disasters, including a flood which I shall refer to as the Gong Gong Flood.Liezi, in Chapter 5of Questions of Tang (475-221BCE), by Lie Yukou, states that after (1) Nüwa had finished her tasks of repairing the heavens with five colored stones,stopping the Big Flood, and establishing the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth), (2) much later, the Gong Gong fought with Zhuan Xu for the leadership. (3) When Gong Gong saw that he was losing, he bumped his head against Mount Buzhou in anger. (4) The pillar of the Earth collapsed, (5) the immovable ropes of the land broke and (6) caused the Earth to tilt towards the northwest. (7) The sun, moon and stars moved their positions. ( The southeast land of China sank lower, (9) and waters changed their flow to the southeast.

There were other written records of Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou in anger, such as Huainanzi.Tianwenxun, which contains the same stories of Gong Gong as Questions of Tang.

Although Shanhaijing does not have record Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou, it has records of Mount Buzhou, and other stories of Gong Gong.

According to Shanhaijing: Classic of the Mountains: West, “Mount Buzhou is located in the north-west of Mount Changsha, 370 li away. Mount Zhubi is to the north, and Mount Yuechong is next to it; Lake Aoze lies to the east.”

The Classic of the Great Wilderness: West also records, “Mount Buzhou is located in the region beyond the North-west Sea, the border of the Great Wilderness.”

Wang Yi, an author of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220CE), thought Mount Buzhou was located in the north-west of Kunlun Mountains.

Many current scholars believed that Mount Buzhou was located in the Pamirs Plateau, to the west of the Kunlun Mountains.

Rex Dalton 1 and researchers, in an article Blast in the past?, published in Nature 447, pp.256-257, 2007, report evidence of an asteroid impact in the remains of human settlements that existed across the American continent at the time. They believe that an asteroid impact in North America during the last Ice Age could be what pushed temperatures even lower, in a cold snap known as the Younger Dryas. [46]

Mukul Sharma, an isotope geochemist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and co-author of a study published in September in 2013 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, agrees: “I’d say there’s evidence of an impact happening, for sure.” An alternative theory is that meteorites or comets impacted or exploded above North America, sparking fires, kicking up a haze of dust and soot and prompting glacial collapse. A possible asteroid impact might cause the Earth's axis of rotation to shift. In my opinion, the story of Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou suggests a serious earthquake, possibly caused by an asteroid impact which also prompted a shift in the Earth’s axis.

Volcanologists have recognized and named four stages of volcanic activity - Ape Canyon (around 40,000-35,000 years ago), Cougar (ca. 20,000-18,000 years ago), Swift Creek (roughly 13,000-8,000 years ago), and Spirit Lake (since about 2500 BCE) - separated by dormant intervals. Gong Gong’s story happened right during Swift Creek period. Along with volcanic activity, there were many large Earthquakes during this time.

There were some similarities to Gong Gong’s story in the Question of Tang.

Gong Gong’s story in Liezi

Inspirations

(1) Long after Nüwa had finished her tasks, (2) Gong Gong fought with Zhuan Xu for the leadership.Nüwa’s story happened about 18,000-20,000 years ago; Gong Gong’s story flood happened about 10,000 years ago.(3) When Gong Gong saw that he was losing, he bumped his head against Mount Buzhou in anger.Possibly a serious earthquake in the area of Mount Buzhou.(4) The pillar of the Earth collapsed, (5) the immovable ropes of the land broke, “The pillar of the sky” was actually “the pillar of the Earth” - the Earth's rotational axis. The Earth's axis shifted, the dynamic equilibrium of the Earth was disrupted and caused great calamities on the Earth.and (6) caused the Earth to tilt towards the northwest. (7) the sun, moon and stars’ locations had changed.The Earth's rotation shifted. From the Earth’s surface, it seemed that the sun, moon and stars’ locations had changed.( The southeast land of China sank lower, (9) and waters changed their flowing to the southeast.Scientists had proved that Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau became suddenly rapid, at a rate of 7cm per year, 10,000 years ago; this matches the southeast land of China sinking lower.Furthermore, the Yellow River shifted its estuary from north to south about 9,600-8,500 years ago.This matches the line about all the rivers flowing southeast.

Scientific expeditions have proved that changes of ( and (9) happened 10,000 years ago.

The Holocene is a geological epoch that began at the end of the Pleistocene 11,700 calendar years BP (before present:1950), and continues to the modern day. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. It has been identified with the current warm period, known as MIS 1, and based on past evidence, can be considered an interglacial in the current ice age.

(Photo is from NASA website)

Scientists have discovered that when the Holocene began, rapidly melting glaciers and rising sea levels led to the uplifting of western land in China. Ten thousand years ago, uplift of the Tibetan Plateau suddenly happened at the rapid rate of 7cm per year. This matches the story, in which ( the southeast land of China sank lower while the western lands were uplifted. The Tibetan plateau is still rising about 5 mm per year today.

The Yellow River had its estuary in the Bo Sea since 150,000 years ago. [47]

But according to scientific records, the Yellow River shifted its estuary from north to south, about 9,600-8,500 years ago.

The Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology published a report, The Yellow River Course and the Yellow River Delta from end of Late Pleistocene to the 7th century BCE, authored by Xue Chunding, on the 1st, 2004 of the Acta Oceanologica Sinica. It states that the Yellow River has twice shifted its estuary from Bo Sea to the Yellow Sea in the areas of Northern Jiangsu. The first time was about 9,600-8,500 years ago, the second time was between 1128-1855.

This compares with Gong Gong’s story about (9) the rivers flowing southeast after Gong Gong bumped his head against Mount Buzhou.

According to Shanhaijing: Classic of the Mountains: North, about 4,000 years ago, the lower reaches of the Big River (the Yellow River) flowed north to the border of the Yongding River Alluvial Fan, where it turned east to Xiongxian and Baxian, and debouched the estuary in north-east Tianjin. Yugong.Daoshui records the Yellow River departing the Ancient Channel at today’s Shenxian, then passing by Central Hebei Plain, and debouched the estuary in the south-east Tianjin (about east of today’s Qingxian County of Cangzhou).

Historically, the Yellow River has changed its estuaries many times, each time accompanied by a great flood. The current estuary of the Yellow River is at Dongying of Shandong Province.

Although we needed more historical records or scientific research to prove (4) the Earth's rotation axis shifted, and thus that (7) the sun, moon and stars looked as if they changed their positions, we might still believe that a large earthquake caused these changes. Scientists had discovered that earthquakes could change Earth's rotation.

The Earth spins on an axis that is tilted 23.5° from the vertical. But this position is far from constant - the planet's axis is constantly shifting in response to changes in the distribution of mass around the Earth.

JPL research scientist Richard Gross computed how Earth's rotation should have changed as a result of the Chile Earthquake on February 27, 2010. Using a complex model, he and fellow scientists came up with a preliminary calculation that the quake should have shortened the length of an Earth day by about 1.26 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). Gross calculates the quake should have moved Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by 2.7 milliarcseconds (about 8 centimeters, or 3 inches). Earth’s figure axis is not the same as its north-south axis; they are offset by about 10 meters (about 33 feet).

By comparison, Gross said the same model estimated the 2004 magnitude 9.1 Sumatran Earthquake should have shortened the length of day by 6.8 microseconds and shifted Earth's axis by 2.32 milliarcseconds (about 7 centimeters, or 2.76 inches).

Landerer and colleagues estimate that the melting of Greenland's ice is already causing Earth's axis to tilt at an annual rate of about 2.6 centimetres - and that rate may increase significantly in the coming years.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claims that over the next century, this subtle effect is expected to cause the northern pole of Earth's spin axis to shift by roughly 1.5 centimetres per year in the direction of Alaska and Hawaii.

From the above arguments, we could conclude that the story of Gong Gong bumping his head against Mount Buzhou records a real geological event, serious earthquakes causing the Earth's axis to shift, giving rise to many natural disasters, including a big flood.

Nüwa Flood (about 18,000-20,000 years ago)Liezi, chapter 5 Questions of Tang (about 475BCE-221BCE), Bamboo Annals (about 475BCE-221BCE) and Huainanzi, Chapter 6: Lanmingxun (179BCE-122BCE), contains similar records of Nüwa repairing the imperfect heavens with five colored stones, establishing the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth) with the legs of a tortoise as struts, and stopping the Big Flood.

Liezi, chapter 5 Questions of Tang clearly tells us that Nüwa’s story happened long before than Gong Gong bumped his head against Mount Buzhou.

Archaeological Findings Prove the Authenticity of Nüwa’s StoryThe Last Glacial MaximumThe Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP (before present 1950), spanning the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000-20,000 years BP, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and Asia. These ice sheets profoundly impacted Earth's climate, causing drought, desertification, and a dramatic drop in sea levels. The world's sea level was about 130 meters lower than today, due to the large amount of sea water that had evaporated and been deposited as snow and ice, mostly in the Laurentide ice sheet.Most of this had melted by about 10,000 years ago.

Northern EuropeNorthern Europe was largely covered by ice, with the southern boundary of the ice sheets passing through Germany and Poland. This ice extended northward to cover Svalbard and Franz Josef Land and northeast to occupy the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and Novaya Zemlya, ending at the Taymyr Peninsula.

South of the ice sheet, permafrost covered Europe down to present-day Szeged in Southern Hungary. Ice covered the whole of Iceland and almost all of the British Isles except for southern England. Britain was no more than a peninsula of Europe, its north capped in ice, and its south a polar desert.

AsiaThere were ice sheets in modern Tibet (although scientists continue to debate their extent) as well as in Baltistan and Ladakh. In Southeast Asia, many smaller mountain glaciers formed, and permafrost covered Asia as far south as Beijing or further, between 35-45 degrees north latitude. Because of lower sea levels, many of today's islands were joined to the continents: the Indonesian islands as far-east as Borneo and Bali were connected to the Asian continent in a landmass called Sundaland. Palawan was also part of Sundaland, while the rest of the Philippine Islands formed one large island separated from the continent only by the Sibutu Passage and the Mindoro Strait.

Africa and the Middle EastIn Africa and the Middle East, many smaller mountain glaciers formed, and the Sahara, Gobi, and other sandy deserts were greatly expanded in extent.

The Persian Gulf averages about 35 metres in depth with the seabed between Abu Dhabi and Qatar even shallower, often less than 15 metres deep. For thousands of years the Ur-Shatt (a confluence of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers) provided fresh water to the Gulf, as it flowed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman.

Bathymetric data suggests there were two palaeo-basins in the Persian Gulf. The central basin may have approached an area of 20,000 km², comparable at its fullest extent to Lake Malawi in Africa. Between 12,000 and 9000 years ago, much of the Gulf floor would have been exposed.

AustraliaAustralia, New Guinea, and Tasmania were one land mass called Sahulland. Between the East Asian mass of Sundaland and Sahulland, Wallacea remained islands, though the amount of open water between the two continents was considerably smaller.

North AmericaIn North America, ice covered essentially all of Canada and extended roughly to the Missouri and Ohio Rivers and eastward to Manhattan, between 35-45 degrees north latitude. In addition to the large Cordilleran Ice Sheet in Canada and Montana, alpine glaciers advanced and in some locations ice caps covered much of the Rocky Mountains further south. Latitudinal gradients were so sharp that permafrost did not reach far south of the ice sheets except at high elevations. LGM glaciers forced early human populations, who had originally migrated from northeast Siberia into refugia, reshaping their genetic variation through mutation and drift. This phenomenon established the older haplogroups found among Native Americans, whereas post-LGM migrations are responsible for northern North American haplogroups.

On the Island of Hawaii geologists have long recognized deposits formed by glaciers on Mauna Kea during recent ice ages. The latest work indicates that deposits of three glacial episodes since 150,000 to 200,000 years ago are preserved on the volcano. Glacial moraines on the volcano formed about 70,000 years ago and from approximately 40,000 to 13,000 years ago. If glacial deposits were formed on Mauna Loa, they have long since been buried by younger lava flows.

South AmericaIn the Southern Hemisphere, the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered the whole southern third of Chile and adjacent areas of Argentina. On the western side of the Andes the ice sheet reached sea level as far north as the Chacao Channel at 41 degrees south. The western coast of Patagonia was largely glaciated, but some authors have pointed out the possible existence of ice-free refugia for some plant species. On the eastern side of the Andes, glacier lobes occupied the depressions of Seno Skyring, Seno Otway, Inútil Bay and Beagle Channel. On the Straits of Magellan, ice reached as far as Segunda Angostura.

Early Modern Humans (Homo sapiens idaltu)Became Extinct About 20,000 Years AgoThe terms “anatomically modern humans” (AMH) or “anatomically modern Homo sapiens” (AMHS), refer in paleoanthropology to members of the species Homo sapiens with an appearance consistent with the range of phenotypes in modern humans. The oldest fossil remains of anatomically-modern humans are the Omo remains, which date to 195,000 (±5,000) years ago and include two partial skulls as well as arm, leg, foot and pelvis bones. Other fossils include the proposed Homo sapiens idaltu from Herto in Ethiopia that are almost 160,000 years old and remains from Skhul in Israel that are 90,000 years old.

The Omo, Herto, Skhul, and Jebel Qafzeh remains are sometimes referred to as "Early Modern Humans (Homo sapiens idaltu)" because their skeletal remains exhibit a mix of archaic and modern traits. Skhul V, for example, has prominent brow ridges and a projecting face. However, the brain case of Skhul V is distinct from that of the Neanderthals and is similar to the brain case of modern humans. There are recognized subspecies, for example Homo sapiens sapiens and Homo sapiens idaltu. In Europe, early modern humans (Homo sapiens idaltu) are called by the name "Cro-Magnon"(28,000 years ago).

During terminal late Pleistocene, which was about 20,000 years ago, all archaic humans - Homo Habilis, Homo erectus, and early Homo sapiens - became extinct. Meanwhile, global species extinction happened on the Earth. The decline of Giant pandas and stegodon fauna was one of the most famous events.

Current humans share a common group of ancestors who were late Modern Humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) and who became the only surviving human species on Earth about 20,000 years ago.

This latest human species (Homo sapiens sapiens), our ancestors, soon entered the Neolithic, a period in the development of human technology. The Neolithic Period began in some parts of the Middle East about 18,000 years BP (some says 12,200 years ago) according to the ASPRO chronology, and later in other parts of the world, and ended between 4,500BCE and 2,000BCE.

Archaeological Evidence of Disasters 20,000-18,000 Years AgoBelow is the temperature record for the past 40,000 years. Horizontal axis: time before 1950. Vertical axis: d-D (or delta-O-18 * 10). (By William M. Connolley).Note that d-D or d-O-18 is an en: proxy for temperature: negative values are colder. The period from 20 to 10 kyr shows the rise in temperature at the end of the last ice age.

Since 20,000 years ago, especially around 18,000 years BP, the rise in temperature caused the ice to melt rapidly. As a result of rapid melting, sea level rose quickly, and floods were everywhere.

Archaeological findings reveal that many volcanos erupted during this period, such as,Mount St. Helens in America (18,000-20,000 years ago, which was called Cougar Stage), Jingpohu in Mudanjiang (20,000 years ago), EIFEL in German (20,000 years ago), Toyako in Japan (20,000 year ago), Mount Fuji in Japan (20,000 years ago; modern Mount Fuji came from that eruption), and an eruption in New Zealand (20,000 years ago, the Banks Peninsula came from the eruption).

We have learned that in the maximum extension of ice sheets at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period, between 26,500 and 19,000-20,000 years BP, ice covered all northern parts of America and Eurasia. It extended to roughly 35-45 degrees north latitude in Eurasia and America, where the old East and West Ends of the Earth were located.

Rapidly rising temperatures about 20,000 years ago led to melting ice and rising sea level. The old East and West Ends of the Earth sank into sea, as did the South and North Ends of the Earth. Like in the story, “the four corners (four Ends of the Earth) collapsed”.

The Earth descended into chaos.(3) The firmament was no longer able to cover everything, and (4) the Earth was no longer able to support itself.Archaeological findings reveal that many natural disasters happened.

Fire burned wild.

Archaeological findings reveal that many volcanos erupted during this period, causing horrible fires.

(6) Waters flooded the land.

As glaciers melted, waters flooded everywhere.

Fierce beasts ate common people, and ferocious birds attacked the old and the weak. Fierce beasts and ferocious birds, which usually lived in far places, now were forced to inhabit the remaining moderate regions in proximity with people.

Nüwa tempered the five-colored stones to mend the heavens, (9) cut off the feet of the great turtle to establish and stabilize the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth), (10) killed the black dragon to help the Earth, and (11) gathered the ash of reed to stop the flood. (15) China became peaceful.Nüwa repaired the heavens by blocking those rips in the heavens with stones, stopping the water from the heavens, established and stabilized the four corners of the Earth (four Ends of the Earth) to stabilize the earth.

Volcanologists have found that after the Cougar stage (ca. 20,000-18,000 years ago) of volcanic activity, many volcanos became relatively stable. The Earth became relatively stable. This matches the story of Nüwa “establishing and stabilizing the new four Ends of the Earth.”

(16) Evil animals died, and (17) Good people grew. We have learned that about 20,000-18,000 years ago, global species extinction happened on the Earth. All archaic humans - Homo Habilis, Homo erectus, and early Homo sapiens - became extinct. Only one human species, the ancestors of current humans, survived.

Mayan Records of the Three FloodsAccording to the correlation between the Long Count and Western calendars accepted by the great majority of Maya researchers (known as the GMT correlation), the starting point of Maya calendar is equivalent to August 11, 3114 BCE in the proleptic Gregorian calendar (Western Calendar). The Mayan Long Count calendar has a 5,125-year long cycle.

According to the Mayan calendar, there were five Sun JI. The Mayans believed that at the end of the first through fourth Sun JI, the Earth entered into chaos.

The first Sun JI (23614BCE-18489BCE) was destroyed in a flood. The end of this period matches the time of the Nüwa Flood. We have discussed above that the ice sheets were at their maximum extension between 26,500 and 19,000-20,000 years BP. After 20,000 years BP, ice sheets melted rapidly. Some mysterious scientists thought that the flood, which had destroyed the first Sun JI was Noah's flood.

The second Sun JI (18489BCE-13364BCE) was blown by the Wind Serpent's disintegration. This suggests violent weather, such as hurricanes or tornadoes, on a global scale.

The third Sun JI (13364BCE-8239BCE)ended in a destructive rain, which some scientists theorize indicates large meteorites or even an ancient nuclear war. The end of this period matches the time of the Gong Gong Flood.We have discussed above that an asteroid impact possibly caused serious earthquakes and volcanic activity as the Earth’s axis shifted.

The fourth Sun JI (8239BCE-3114BCE) ended with the Earth perishing in a rain of fire. The end of this period matches the time of the Da Yu Flood.

The fifth Sun JI (August11, 3114BCE - December 21, 2012CE) ended on December 21, 2012, the day that the calendar would go to the next baktun. (However, according to Gerardo Aldana, University of California, Santa Barbara professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, the Mayan "Long Count" calendar may not end on December 21, 2012, earlier calculation was possibly wrong.)

The Big Flood (Genesis) and the Nüwa LegendAccording to Genesis 6-8, when Men began to increase in number on the Earth, the Earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. Only Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. God let Noah make an ark and wiped all people and animals and the creatures from the Earth by a big flood, except Noah, his family and creatures with him in the ark.

We have discussed above that around 20,000-18,000 years ago, global species extinction happened on the Earth, and all archaic humans, including Homo Habilis, Homo erectus, and early Homo sapiens, became extinct. Only one human species, who were the ancestors of current humans, survived. This matches the line about “evil animals dying and good people growing” in the Nüwa Legend.

The Nüwa Flood and the Bible’s Big Flood both describe global species extinction.

Genesis 8:2 says, “Now the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed, and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.”

The Nüwa Legend has a similar story of repairing the heavens - blocking those rips in the heavens with stones. Those rips were the floodgates of the heavens. They were blocked by Nüwa with stones, exactly as described in Genesis when the floodgates of the heavens were closed. Nüwa was God’s angel, who helped God to close the floodgates of the heavens.

Genesis says, “The waters covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits. The waters flooded the Earth for a hundred and fifty days.”

We know that during the time of the Nüwa Legend, 26,500-19,000 years before present (BP, 1950), ice sheets were at their maximum extension. Vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and Asia, and reached about 40 degrees north latitude. The world's sea level was about 130 meters lower than today.

At that time, mankind inhabited a small region mainly near tropical areas. Later, the inhabited coastlines were flooded due to the rising sea level; the inhabited low-lying fields were flooded due to the melting ice. The water had destroyed most archaeological evidence of human remains in those areas.

According to a literal approach to the Bible’s word, waters covered all lands for 150 days. It would not leave any archaeological evidence of the Big Flood, in those land which were covered by ice sheets, were under the water for 150 days.

After the Big Flood, the ice sheets kept melting as the temperatures rose, and more land was made suitable for mankind. As God promised Noah and his sons, mankind turned out to “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the Earth.”(Genesis 9:1)

The legends of Nüwa and the Biblical story of the Big Flood, which came from different ancient civilizations, had uncanny similarities, and seem likely to have come from the same historical events.

This article is a brief part of the book "The Queen of the South in Matthew 12:42". please visit,